As the tumultuous 2011 comes down to its final day, this column could contain an obnoxious summary of the year’s extraordinary events. Rather than once again discussing the protests around the world, the death of Osama Bin Laden, Fukushima, America’s political ineptitude, Europe’s demise or the increasingly frightful weather patterns, here I attempt to predict what 2012 holds in store.

For one of the first times in his tenure as Speaker, John Boehner has made a statement with which every American, Republican or Democrat, should fully agree; the two-month Senate bipartisan extension of the payroll tax cut fails to fix the nation’s problems sufficiently. Providing a short-term band-aid to a long-term dilemma contradicts what a responsible government should accomplish, but fits the pattern of contemporary American politicking.

Mitt Romney is guilty of serial hypocrisy, Newt Gingrich is guilty of being a public intellectual constantly scrutinized by the media and others, and Ron Paul never ceases to remind me about one of my favorite quotes from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Essays: “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”

Jon Huntsman did not participate in the CNN Debate in Las Vegas on Tuesday night. Short of his family and small (and getting smaller) campaign staff, no one really noticed. In a bizarre and counterproductive effort to impress New Hampshire voters Huntsman skipped the debate to protest Nevada moving its caucus ahead of New Hampshire’s, which has always been the nation’s first primary. It’s bizarre because no one else skipped the debate. It’s counterproductive because right now, Jon Huntsman is polling 6% in New Hampshire.

For the past month a movement has grown out of Zuccoti Park in New York with the potential to grab at the very heart of America’s problems. “We are the 99%” is not simply a catchy phrase used by frustrated jobless Americans , but a commentary on the disgraceful economic inequality that has arisen in the United States since the 1970s.

Midtown East has been jam-packed this week with dignitaries who are in town for the UN General Assembly, and if nothing else, this week proves that amidst the faltering economy and political uncertainty, the United States is still the greatest country in the world.

Tim Pawlenty quit. Based upon on an inability to compete in Iowa, culminating in a disappointing—if not altogether surprising—showing at the Ames Straw Poll, Pawlenty bowed out of the race this past Sunday. His explanation, much like his speeches throughout his brief campaign, was well-reasoned, safe, and wholly unsurprising.

The debt deal is more like a compromise between Moderate Republicans and Tea Partiers — but is a completely necessary step to bringing the nation back to solvency that deals a startling blow to fiscal liberalism in the United States.

Conor Rogers argues that if these 12 political phrases exited our discussion, we’d all be able to get along a bit better. The top phrase? “What the American people want…” The American people don’t 100% agree on anything.

Have you heard? Rick Perry might be running for President! And that’s got the pundit class wondering if America is ready for another Texan. But hold your horses — George W. Bush and Rick Perry are hardly the same breed of Republican.

Conor Rogers argues that “traditional marriage” is an imagined victim in the national debate over same-sex marriage. The debate should be about individual rights, not the condition of “traditional marriage” nationwide.

If “T-Paw” cannot make Mitt Romney, a former pro-abortion, pro-gay, healthcare advocate from Massachusetts, look like a liberal-turned-hypocrite, the Republican Party cannot count on him to make President Obama look like a failure.

President Obama’s recent assertion that Israel should return to pre-1967 borders shows that he is fixated on multilateralism. But true multilateralism will be achieved by the gravity and stature of the president—not his ability to pander to European interests.

Singapore was led to prosperity by the capitalist “socialists” in the People’s Action Party (PAP). Now that the PAP have been hotly contested, McCaffrey fears that the weaknesses of publicly-owned government will weaken Singapore.

The similarities between Mitt Romney’s healthcare reforms to President Obama’s controversial legislation exposes him to a powerful attack from the right in the upcoming Republican primaries. The best political path for Romney is to embrace his reforms as an assertion of states’ rights.

Today people are trying to understand why Angela Merkel’s government seems indifferent to the plight of the Libyans. They talk about Germany’s involvement in Kosovo and shake their heads at Merkel’s response. The French, of all people, they say, are taking the lead this time.
Germans are actually a rather insular bunch of people who prefer to think about how to preserve their own community rather than exporting their values to the rest of the world. This is because Germany is still struggling to understand its own values. This may be kind of surprising, since the war ended a while ago.

Liberals, who crow the most about lobbyists and their supposed influence, are actually the impetus for the growing ranks of lobbyists. The larger government gets, the more business relies on specialists to help them navigate the waters. And while liberals may try to legislate lobbyists out of business, the only final way to negate their influence will be a smaller and simpler (conservative) government.

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